To the surprise of very few, the Edmonton Oilers have officially failed to comeback in their first round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks, losing in six games.
After back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals runs, the Oilers are unable to get past the first round against the Ducks, losing in game six 5-2. For a team that has hit such high highs in recent years, this feels like an abject failure.
Even the Oilers captain Connor McDavid sees this, saying in his postgame remarks, calling the Oilers an "average team with high expectations."
Connor McDavid says the #oilers were an "average team with high expectations":
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 1, 2026
"That's been the whole year. We've been searching for consistency the whole year. Obviously we didn't find it in the playoffs."
Embarrassing first round exit
It is important to mention that emotions are due to run high, especially after such a poor season from a team that was supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender. Their stars in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl especially are not getting younger, the latter is 30 and the former will be 30 next season. They likely want to win a Stanley Cup soon, putting even more pressure on their failures to do, especially after getting so close the past two seasons.
The Oilers will need to be better next year, especially with McDavid being signed for only two more seasons. The clock is really ticking for the player and team and after the team was outclassed by their opponents, you cannot help but feel a little worried for the future.
There is no sugar coating this loss. The Oilers were largely outcoached and outplayed by most metrics, leaving behind a lot of burning questions that Oilers brass will need to answer this summer.
Changes will need to be made
One thing is for certain, the Oilers will have to undergo changes this offseason, as McDavid pointed out, the Oilers struggled to be a consistent team all season long. This was a product of their players between the pipes, the man behind the bench, and many pieces throughout their lineup.
Part way through the season, after massive struggles in goal, general manager Stan Bowman had to make major changes, completely swapping their goaltending tandem out. Starting the season with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard manning the crease, by mid-January they had switched to Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry.
Then, there have been clear and accurate critiques of head coach Kris Knoblauch throughout the year, who needed Paul Coffey to return behind the bench in order to straighten them out. There were also times throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs series that Knoblauch appeared to be outclassed by his counterpart, Joel Quenneville behind Anaheim's bench.
Knoblauch failed to properly insulate his stars from being shutdown with McDavid failing to register a point in the first two games and in the final game of the series. Going three games without a single point is simply unacceptable from the biggest star in hockey.
There is a lot for Bowman and Co. to mull over and with him getting a jumpstart on his offseason, he will hopefully be able to come up with a cohesive plan and avoid further embarrassing moments moving forward.
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